Relationships

Creating Quality Time... No Matter What's Going On

Creating Quality Time... No Matter What's Going On

Typically speaking, parents put a lot of pressure on themselves to make time for their children. Now, it seems we spend a lot of time strategizing how to get away from them! Early-quarantine offered us a seemingly once-in-a-lifetime chance to spend quality time with our kids. Four months in, the quantity of time has turned the quality of time to mush. We still yearn to have meaningful interactions with our kids, but how do we restore the quality of our connections when we are feeling so burnt out?

Spend Time Playing With Your Kids

Spend Time Playing With Your Kids

Most parents “get” the need to spend time playing with their kids, but more often than not, we’re left standing on the sidelines (or collapsed on the couch), watching our kids laugh and play, while we struggle to find an in. While, of course, kids need to play with other kids as well as on their own (i.e. we don’t need to be involved all the time); playing with parents is a great way for your child to bond with you, in their world, on their terms. Understanding the importance of play, as well as a few simple strategies for getting involved in the action, ultimately makes it easier for us to find the time and energy to get in the game. So what’s a parent to do? Here’s what the experts recommend…

The Power of Reading to Kids

The Power of Reading to Kids

As much as we all crave quality time with the kids in our lives, relating to children can be surprisingly tough. What do they like? What are they thinking, feeling, experiencing? Striking up a conversation about these things can be challenging. That’s where books come in. Books can provide a powerful point of entry for relating to kids. They are written and edited by professionals who understand the issues and interests children face at various ages and stages. Therefore, they can be used as a way to spur conversation, explore emotions, discover hobbies and interests, learn new information, or purely for entertainment. Oh, the places you’ll go!

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Networking (In Half The Time)

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Networking (In Half The Time)

Networking is vital to a successful career in almost any field. Without the time and ability to engage in networking at the same level as their non-parent peers, working parents need to get creative and develop concrete strategies for cultivating professional relationships. If you’re struggling to find the time, try systematizing your approach so that it becomes a seamless part of your routine without stealing precious hours from your day with these easy strategies.

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Does Technology Bring Us Closer Together Or Further Apart?

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Does Technology Bring Us Closer Together Or Further Apart?

With great power, comes great responsibility. Twenty years ago, we may not have imagined a world in which every person could hold great power in the palm of their hand. And then came the smartphone… providing us with a whole lot of power, and a responsibility we may not have been prepared to accept. Ultimately, our devices have the power to allow us to connect or disconnect at will. And it’s up to us to decide how we use technology in our everyday lives — whether we allow it to lift or limit the quality of our social interactions.

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Staying Close While Far Apart

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Staying Close While Far Apart

A 75-year study at Harvard University, known as the Grant Study, found that close relationships — more than money, fame, IQ, or genes — are what keep people happy and healthy over a long life. It’s one thing to cultivate close relationships with people who live under our roof or within our community. But staying close to those who live further away is a whole different challenge. Often, we tend to rely on social media to do the heavy lifting, keeping us up-to-date on the lives of our friends and family members. But that can’t be all there is. For our long distance relationships to go the distance, it’s important to actively prioritize and nourish them.

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It's Never Too Late To Hit Reset With Your Kids

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It's Never Too Late To Hit Reset With Your Kids

You may have heard that 90% of who we become as adults is the result of what happens in the first seven years of life. It would be a pretty cruel  joke of nature, if the greatest impact we have as parents is when we are least experienced. Parenting is one of the most complex jobs in the world and it doesn’t come with any training or an extension number we can dial for “technical” support. We’re all just learning as we go. We’re bound to make mistakes. Luckily, recent science has found that while the early years do matter very much, the later years do too.

Carving out time for your Spouse (once you have kids)

Carving out time for your Spouse (once you have kids)

The scene: You’re finally alone with your spouse, out for a nice dinner, and all you can talk about are the kids.

Did you talk to Ms. So-and-So about the science project?
Are you taking [the kid] to piano lessons on Saturday or am I?

To Achieve Your Goals — Focus on Others

To Achieve Your Goals — Focus on Others

Over the holidays, I went to Puerto Rico to visit family for their annual Christmas Party. In the wake of Hurricane Maria, I didn’t know what to expect and arrived prepared for anything — from bringing fun, good energy to help my relatives take a break from the stress, to rolling up my sleeves and helping with the recovery.

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Recharging on the Weekends: Think PEP

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Recharging on the Weekends: Think PEP

Several years ago Life Magazine conducted the Great American Weekend Study, and discovered that 47% of people wait until Thursday night or later to plan their weekends. I don’t even need to tell you what happens when we wait too long to plan — the weekend slips through our fingers and before we know it, it’s Sunday night, and we didn’t do anything fun or refreshing.

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